Tan Pattern Group

Solid Otter's

Few Days Old	Few Weeks Old	Adult Color
"The surface color of the head, outside of ears, front of fore feet, outside of hind feet and the top and sides of the body are to be the surface color and the undercolor described in the respective self variety. The Black and Chocolate animals will have orange markings and ticking, while the Blue and Lilac animals will have fawn markings and ticking color. The belly, nostrils, eye circles, jowls, underside of tail, inside of ears, back of fore feet and the inside of the hind feet and legs are to be creamy white, highlighted by an orange or fawn marking as it meets the self color of the body. The undercolor of the belly is to be slate blue. The triangle and the collar are to be orange or fawn. Orange or fawn ticking is to be evenly distributed on the chest, sides, and lower hindquarters. eye color is to be described in the respective self varieties."
Black Otter, a(t)_B_C_D_E_
Picture permission of Katie Boswell.	Cody's Ming Lee. Picture used with permission from Cody Taylor of Cody's Holland Lops. Picture permission of Amber from Red Holland Lop Odyssey.	Picture permission of Laura & Amanda Erickson. Cody's Chun Lee. Picture permission of Cody Taylor of Cody's Holland Lops. Picture permission of Cody Taylor of Cody's Holland Lops.
Blue Otter, a(t)_B_C_ddE_
Blue Otter, Lilac Otter, Blue Otter and Lilac Otter (left to right). Picture permission of Katie Boswell. Picture permission of CME Rabbitry in Malaysia.	Picture used with permission from Cody Taylor of Cody's Holland Lops.	Picture used with permission from Cody Taylor of Cody's Holland Lops.
Chocolate Otter, a(t)_bb_C_D_E_
Broken Chocolate Otter (TORTED), Chocolate on top, Chocolate Otter. Picture permission of Mia Poff. Picture permission of Krystal Fiandt. Picture permission of Krystal Fiandt. Picture permission of Krystal Fiandt.	Picture permission of Krystal Fiandt. Picture permission of Krystal Fiandt. Picture permission of Laura & Amanda Erickson.	Picture permission of Olive Tree Lops.
Lilac Otter, a(t)_bbC_ddE_
Blue Otter, Lilac Otter, Blue Otter and Lilac Otter (left to right). Picture permission of Katie Boswell.	Picture permission of Clover Field Farm.	Picture permission of Kristen Hawkes Hewlett.
Sable Marten, Black, a(t)_B_c(chl)_D_E_
Sable and Silver Martens are not recognized, however, they are being worked on by some breeders.
Note the ticking on the sides of the body. Note the undercolor of the belly. Note the shimmer typical of a Siamese Sable at this same age. Pictures above of a 2-week old Black Sable Marten, permission of Laura Lyon.		Picture permission Emily Meagher. Picture permission Max-D Holland Lops.

Broken Otter's

Few Days Old	Few Weeks Old	Adult Color
Broken Black Otter
As kits, they are very similar to an Agouti looking kit - inside of ears are light. The middle 2 broken kits are Broken Otters. The top kit is a Broken Black. Pix permission of Sandy LaBeau. Pix permission of CME Rabbitry. Pix permission of CME Rabbitry.	Now that the same kits are older, the tan markings are apparent indicating they are Otters and not Agouti's. The two kits on the right are the Broken Black Otters. Kit on the left, is a broken black. Picture permission of Sandy LaBeau. 3-weeks old. Adorable little dude. Picture sent to me by Rabbit Tree Rabbitry.	Broken Black Otter Jr. Doe. Note the fawn colored markings at the base of her neck and around her nose. Picture permission of Teri Antonioni. Spring Fever's Baloo. Picture permission of Mythical Lops Rabbitry. Note the tan nose markings around nostrils and jowels.
Broken Blue Otter
14-days old. Picture permission of CME Rabbitry, Malaysia.	3-weeks old. Picture sent to me by Rabbit Tree Rabbitry.	Heath's Indy, Broken Blue Otter, owned and bred by Marie Heath. 2011 ARBA Convention, Indianapolis, IN. A very pretty Broken Blue Otter Buck. Note the fawn colored markings at the base of his neck. Picture permission of Sandy LaBeau.
Broken Chocolate Otter
Pix permission of Clover Field Farm. Same kit, just a bit older. Pix permission of Clover Field Farm. This is a TORTED Broken Chocolate Otter, meaning his genotype is a(t)_bbC_D_ee. You can see the shading on his sides, which would not be there is he were full extension. Pix permission of Mia Poff.	Cute fuzzy with a half-butterfly. Picture permission of Krystal Fiandt.	Picture sent to me by Rabbit Tree Rabbitry.
Broken Lilac Otter
Need pix.	Need pix.	Need pix.

Recent Updates:

Black Sable Martens kits at 2-weeks of age and seniors. June 1, 2019.

Comparison Photos:

This is a great picture. Thank you to Laura & Amanda Erickson for sharing. Top to Bottom: Chocolate Otter, Chocolate Agouti, Chestnut, Chocolate Otter, and Chocolate Agouti!

Another good comparison photo, from Rabbit Tree Rabbitry. Left to Right: Black Otter, two Broken Black Otters, two Broken Blacks, Broken Blue Otter, and a Broken Blue.

Genetics of TAN GROUP (Otters) Colors

ALL Otters are ALWAYS a minimum of: a(t)_ __ C_ __ E_.

A basic BLACK OTTER is a(t)_B_C_D_E_. They are identical to a black genetically, except that a black is self with 'aa'. The tan pattern allele, a(t), is only dominant over 'a'. So, a(t)a and a(t)a(t) will both make an Otter.

To make a CHOCOLATE OTTER, you simply change the B_ to 'bb'. So, a Chocolate Otter is a(t)_bbC_D_E_. Remember, the B-series has only two alleles, "B" for BLACK and "b" for BROWN (otherwise known as chocolate for us Holland folks). The chocolate allele is recessive, so for it to show itself there MUST be two of them. So, to be chocolate, it must be "bb" in the B-series.

To make a BLUE OTTER, you simply change the D_ to 'dd'. So, a Blue Otter is a(t)_B_C_ddE_. The D-series is very simple, just like the B-series. There is only "D", for dense, and "d" for dilute. The dilute allele is recessive, so for it to show itself, there MUST be two of them. So, to be Blue, it must be "dd" in the D-series.

And, to make a LILAC OTTER, you simply change BOTH the B_ and D_ to 'bb' and 'dd'. So, a Lilac Otter is a(t)_bbC_ddE_. Anything Lilac, is ALWAYS both CHOCOLATE AND DILUTE.

Are you seeing the pattern here?

Care needs to be taken when breeding otters, as Torted Otters can appear. A Torted Otter has two recessive non-extension alleles "ee" instead of full-extension, "E_". There may be plenty of reasons to bring a tort into your otter program (to improve type, ear placement, etc). Just be aware that by introducing the Tort, all offspring will carry 'a' and 'e' from the tort.

Also, understand that breeding Agouti's into your Otter program, can produce Agouti offspring that carry the tan allele recessively - Aa(t).

Now that you have the basic Otter down pat, lets move onto a color that is NOT recognized in Hollands, but is in others breeds, such as Netherland Dwarfs: The SABLE MARTEN. The Sable Marten is just ONE gene different from an Otter. Sable Martens are "c(chl)_" instead of "C_". Your basic Black Sable Marten is a(t)_B_c(chl)_D_E_. It is also very similar to a Siamese Sable - only differing by the tan allele, where the Siamese Sable is 'aa'.